UCLA’s Huff signs with Indians

Former UCLA starting pitcher Dave Huff ended his holdout by
signing a contract with the Cleveland Indians on July 21.

As the Indians’ top pick in June’s Major League
Baseball Amateur Draft with the 39th overall pick, Huff received a
$900,000 signing bonus.

Huff will join the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, the Indians’
single-A short-season affiliate, marking the fourth different team
the left-hander has been on in the last three years.

After Mahoning Valley’s season ends on Sept. 7, Huff will
then report to the Indians’ instructional league team in
Winter Haven, Fla., Indians scouting director John Mirabelli told
the Cleveland Morning Jounal. Mirabelli also said that the plan is
to get Huff to high Class-A Kinston next year.

Huff was drafted two other times before being selected by the
Indians 39th overall in June. Huff chose not to sign either
time.

But Huff said he was confident he and the Indians would reach an
agreement.

“(The Indians) offered $875,000 first which was quite an
offer,” Huff said. “I really considered it. But my
mentality was, “˜wait.’ If the offer was still there, I
would’ve taken it anyway. I wasn’t going back to
school. I was ready.”

Throughout Huff’s career, he has been compared to Barry
Zito, another left-handed finesse pitcher who flourished under the
tutelage of John Savage when Savage was the pitching coach at
USC.

Huff’s new organization is comparing him to another young
southpaw, Jeremy Sowers.

“The thing we like the most about David is he’s a
strike thrower,” Mirabelli told the Morning Journal.
“He’s a well above-average strike thrower.”

“He’s going to be on an accelerated path, like
Sowers,” Mirabelli said.

Huff said that the Indians offered a very unique contract in
terms of his timetable to balance both school and baseball career.
Huff was given two years as a college package to finish up school
while in the minor leagues, while the customary grace period is
only one year for a junior.

“Usually they give one year and a semester,” Huff
said. “With me they were offering two. That’s not
normal. I also have an ’06 contract instead of ’07
which means arbitration is a year earlier.”

For the Bruins this year, Huff was 7-4 with a 2.98 ERA. He
pitched 129 2/3 innings (a Pac-10 high), striking out 100 while
giving up 121 hits on 27 walks.

With reports from Bobby Gordon, Bruin Sports senior
staff.